A Very Easy Death

Content Warning: This section of the guide and the source material refer to terminal illness and death, bereavement, addiction, and suicide.

In Rome on October 24th, 1963, Simone de Beauvoir learns that her 77-year-old mother, Françoise de Beauvoir, has fallen and broken her femur. Alone in her apartment in Paris, Françoise crawled for hours to reach the phone to call for help. Simone returns to Paris where her mother has been transferred from the public hospital, where she spent a night, to a private geriatric clinic with a top orthopedist.

Françoise’s appearance disturbs Simone: Confused, inarticulate, and slack-faced, Françoise appears to have suffered a minor stroke despite the doctor’s assurance otherwise. Unbeknownst to Simone, Françoise had been in poor health for weeks, suffering from bouts of sharp stomach pain. Françoise’s regular doctor has diagnosed these pains as constipation: While the broken femur is not in itself life threatening, the bed rest required to mend it has potentially fatal complications for Françoise’s compromised gastrointestinal health. The clinic promises to avert these complications and the doctor, Professor B., assures Simone that her mother will walk normally again.

After a few days, Françoise emerges from her stupor and returns to her normal appearance.